Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $226.88.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DRI. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $211.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.72. Darden Restaurants has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $24.22 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 63.49%.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.